Five Things to Read: My Favorite Weekend Articles and Tidbits

1. "The Pay Problem" from The New Yorker: "What's to be done about C.E.O. compensation?" asks David Owen as he profiles Nell Minow, a lawyer and independent researcher of C.E.O. salaries. It's a great and often horrifying read. You can't get the full article on-line, but the article is certainly worth tracking down in the October 12, 2009 issue of The New Yorker.
2. "Eating Animals Is Making Us Sick" from CNN's Opinion section: Another great but disturbing piece of writing. Jonathan Safran Foer discusses the connection between factory-farmed meat and foodborne illness. My favorite quote: "Food is not just what we put in our mouths to fill up; it is culture and identity. Reason plays some role in our decisions about food, but it's rarely driving the car."
3. "Some Reasons for Reviewing" from The Best American Poetry Blog: Craig Morgan Teicher muses on the benefits and purposes of reviewing poetry. This is definitely reading for poetry nerds, but Teicher's writing is still smart, compelling, and thoughtful.
4. "How to Advance Your Career Without Selling Your Soul" from Advertising Age: Joe Hodas suggests the best ways to advance your career without being a jerk. My favorite tips: know your personal toolkit and how to use it, and strive to be "that ray of light in your boss'/co-worker's day."
5. "A Good Style Comes From Lack of Pretentiousness" from the Advice To Writers Blog: The Advice to Writers Blog compiles writing tips and wisdom from famous writers. I loved one of its recent selections from Charles Bukowski: "A good style comes primarily from lack of pretentiousness, and what is pretentious changes from year to year from day to day from minute to minute. We must be ever more careful. A man does not get old because he nears death; a man gets old because he can no longer see the false from the good."